Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. That honor belongs solely to J.K. Rowling. I don't make any kind of money or profit out of this story; it is purely for my reader's enjoyment.

Thank you for all those lovely reviews! Tried to get this chapter out as soon as I could! Enjoy!

Previous chapter:

The touch of Orion's lips to the back of his hand was feather light and yet it felt like Hadrian had been burned and branded with an intense fire. Too soon the feeling was gone, and he felt curiously empty.

With only a last dark and promising look, Orion Black, the Patriarch of the Black Family left the room of Requirement, and Hadrian fell back into his chair gracelessly, thoughts churching.

He would have liked to convince himself that the trembling wrecking his body was the physical sign of his dread, and yet he knew without the slightest bit of doubt, that those shudders were dark shivers of anticipation.

He smirked excitedly, 'Let the game begin.'

Chapter 3 – Mother Magic and Bonds

Hadrian Altair Peverell turned the yellowed envelope in his hand, staring at the crest upon the back. He was seated in his private chambers, a cup of tea and biscuits on the table as he perused his mail in his living room. It had been several weeks since he had first met the father of Sirius Black, Lord Orion Arcturus Black; and it had been nearly as many weeks since they had started a constant correspondence with each other.

Only a week after their intense first meeting, he had received a letter from Orion, asking if he would be interested in a frequent correspondence between them. To his everlasting shame, he had not been able to wipe the pleased smile from his face for the whole day. Orion Black was constantly at the forefront of his mind, and Hadrian had even contemplated writing first, if only to increase the chance of another meeting. His magic was practically demanding that he meet with Orion again. It was as frightening as intoxicating, to feel the draw and the attraction between them, and Hadrian knew Orion had felt it as well.

Sirius had come to ask for several books on the nature of magic; and Hadrian had given him some of his private collection, imparting upon the stunned and slightly horrified teen exactly what would happen to him if he were to lose or damage the priceless books in any way. Hadrian had relented in the privacy of his mind later on that he probably should not have smiled as serenely for the duration of his rather impressive list of threats, Sirius had looked rather hesitant to even take the books at the end of his impromptu speech.

Pushing the amusing thoughts of a completely terrified Sirius out of his mind - he knew that he was a bit of a sadist - Hadrian opened the envelope, eyebrows raised in a gesture of surprise - the only sign of shock he allowed himself to show even in the privacy of his chambers - as he read through the latest letter of Orion.

Hadrian,

It has been several weeks since we met for the first and to date last time. I have to admit, I have thoroughly enjoyed our correspondence up to now, and find myself eager to see you again.

My eldest has written me that he has nearly finished the first of the books you lent him, and I wish to thank you by taking you out on a dinner during the next weekend, Saturday at six o'clock at the 'Silver Leaf'.

I hope my invitation and the subsequent date is agreeable to you.

Sincerely,

Orion Arcturus Black

(Lord to the House of Black)

Hadrian smiled genuinely as he folded the letter carefully, not even having to think about his answer. Taking a parchment, Hadrian quickly wrote an affirmative reply, sealing it with his own stamp containing the Peverell crest. A moment later, a grey eagle owl swooped through the opened window, landing on Hadrian's outstretched arm gracefully. He had bought his companion in France more than a year ago, and had since then bonded to the fierce creature he had taken to calling Ares after the Greek God of War.

As Hadrian watched his proud owl fly away, he could not help but feel the faintest shivers of excitement heating up his magic and blood. He couldn't wait to see Orion again.

Hadrian strode confidently through Diagon Alley, drawing many appreciative looks from both genders, as he approached the Silver Leaf, a rather high-class restaurant in one of the more expensive corners of the Alley. He had admittedly fretted a little over what to wear, before he had finally decided on beautiful and elegant formal dark green robes accented by intricate silver designs, coupled with a deep black outer robe with beautiful light grey fur linings.

Entering the famous establishment, he handed his outer robe to a young hostess and approached another gracefully; aware of the interested looks he was receiving by patrons and the staff alike. He had gotten used to such attention many years ago.

''I'm with Lord Black.'' he stated smoothly, and was promptly rewarded with a widened stare and hurried movements, as the hostess smiled at him, eyes flickering to his displayed ring briefly. ''This way please, my Lord.''

Hadrian pretended not to notice the stares as he was led to one of the many private rooms for the more exclusive and especially richer part of the clientele, the mahogany door was opened by the slightly bowing hostess, and Hadrian graced the blushing woman with a small smile. ''Thank you.''

As soon as he was inside the cozy yet luxurious room, Hadrian's eyes were instantly drawn to the figure of Orion Black already sitting in one of the two comfortable chairs. The Black Lord's intense gaze was scrutinizing him, and Hadrian did the same in return, noting that the deep black robes did nothing to hide the firm muscles underneath.

''Hadrian. Truly a pleasure to see you again.'' Orion rose from his position and after only half a dozen firm strides, the Black Lord was standing right in front of Hadrian, letting the spicy and somehow musky scent that clung to Orion invade his senses. He nearly groaned as his magic began to heat up and thrum inside his body at the mere presence of the elder wizard.

''Likewise, thank you for the invitation.'' Hadrian replied distractedly, focusing instead on the dark gaze eyeing him predatorily. Orion chuckled warmly, a small smile gracing his lips as he pressed a short kiss to Hadrian's hand, once again making Hadrian shiver almost unnoticeably. He just couldn't help his body's reactions to the other wizard, and by the slightly triumphant looks in those gorgeous grey eyes, it didn't go unnoticed.

Orion led him to the broad table, already set with small appetizers and Hadrian didn't even protest when Orion seated him at the table, brushing the tips of his fingers against the back of Hadrian's neck teasingly as he slowly walked towards his own seat.

Clearing his throat to distract himself from the tingling feeling still assaulting his neck, Hadrian stared pointedly at the completely unrepentant Lord. ''All of this to thank me? I'm honored Orion.'' Hadrian smirked, both knowing that Orion's reason for this dinner was anything but such.

''Of course, the books you lent Sirius were both priceless and as far as I know, incredibly rare. This is the least I can do to thank you for helping my son reconcile with his linage and leanings.'' Orion stated sincerely, before smiling mischievously ''Although we both know that it was for a very different reason that I sent out that invitation.''

Hadrian savored the last bit of his salad, even as his blood sought to rise to his cheeks. He had never been good with receiving such bold words, and it was made only worse by the fact that he was thoroughly pleased by them this time. ''True, and I have accepted for the very same reason.''

Orion laughed, a deep rumbling sound that did nothing to calm Hadrian's desire. ''You won't hear me complaining.''

Hadrian smirked, watching as Orion absentmindedly sipped some of his wine. ''Me neither. It is good to see you again.''

''I find myself drawn to you, Hadrian. My magic yearns for you and I am rather reluctant to ignore such a sign from Mother Magic herself.'', Orion pierced his widened emerald eyes with a warm and sincere gaze, causing Hadrian to hide embarrassed and relieved smile behind his own glass.

Hadrian chuckled dryly. ''You are not the only one, Orion. However...'' Hadrian's voice sharpened, making Orion lean forwards slightly in an obvious sign of concern, ''I do not know much about you. Nor do you know a lot about me. I do not wish to rush into anything.''

Orion's warm smile caught Hadrian off-guard. ''Then perhaps we can get to know each other better, I find myself intrigued by you, to be honest.''

''Telling you all of my secrets would make this dreadfully boring, do you not agree?'' Hadrian challenged, humming when he tasted some of the steak that served as the main dish and had arrived some minute ago, upon them pressing several runes.

''Secrets? Hmm, I shall endeavor then, to convince you of my sincerity, so that you may share them with me.'' the Black Lord replied, sampling some of his own food.

There was a period of thoughtful silence, as both ate their meal quietly. Hadrian was contemplating on how much he should reveal. As ridiculous as it sounded, he did trust Orion not to misuse what he would learn about him. Orion Black was sincere about his wish to get to know him better, Hadrian could sense no malicious intentions in Orion's manner, plus his magic would never wish to bind him to a wizard who would wish him harm or could not be trusted with his secrets.

''What do you wish to know?'' Hadrian finally conceded, twirling his wine glass in his right hand.

Orion looked momentarily stunned, both knew that it was a huge sign of trust - trust which when broken would not be given back. ''I am curious about how you carry the name Peverell.'' Orion began expectantly, leaning back in the comfortable chair.

Hadrian sighed, closing his eyes briefly. ''I was born and grew up in France. In the seventeen hundreds, the Peverell line was attacked due to its neutral status, and the only living heir locked down the vaults and escaped to France. He changed his name and lived there modestly, not wishing to draw too much attention to himself and subsequently end the ancient Peverell line. He married pureblood women from a minor House and slowly integrated his family as moderately wealthy but not of noble birth. The family history however was passed down and added to a separate but linked vault at the French vault of Gringotts.'' Hadrian smiled wistfully, remembering the search through the several vaults for more information about his lineage. He had only found out about his ancestry when he was fifteen; and had taken great pleasure in learning about his Houses.

''My father was a pureblood descended from that line, he met my mother in school and they married shortly after. It was actually believed that she was a Muggleborn; something that I discovered was not true when I traced back my own lineage with a potion. Nevertheless, they had me only a year after their marriage, unfortunately they died during Grindelwald's reign and I was saved by a dying House elf who brought me to the only family I had left, my mother's adoptive muggle sister.''

Hadrian swallowed heavily, thoughts of the Dursleys and his parent's death could still affect him, and he truly hated speaking about it. Everything he had said was true, except the part where he grew up in France. His father was descended from the Peverell line and his mother had been adopted - and hadn't that been a surprise?

Orion gently touched his left hand which he hadn't even realized was clenched tightly, and he felt himself relax instantly.

''You don't have to continue.'' Orion said softly, rubbing soothing circles upon the back of his hand, and Hadrian smiled at him thankfully. He knew that the Black Lord wouldn't press any further, but Hadrian wanted him to know. His magic was urging him to tell the wizard gazing at him so gently, whispering that it would help and Hadrian had never been steered wrong by Mother Magic before.

''It's fine..'' Hadrian continued, letting Orion's strong presence wash away the last dredges of hesitation. ''... at any case, my life there wasn't very pleasant. My aunt had been jealous of my sister and began hating everything connected to magic. I got my letter when I was eleven, and I learned of my inheritance during my time in school. I started travelling around the world after getting the equivalent to NEWT's, visiting country after country and studying all kinds of magic. Finally a year ago I returned to where my family originally came from, sorted out everything necessary so that I could claim my Lordship and applied for the position of Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. And here we are.''

Ignoring all rules and regulations of propriety, Orion stood up and walked around the table, stopping in front of the still slightly shaken Hadrian and promptly pulled the stunned younger man into his firm embrace. Hadrian was more than shocked about the arms pressing him into a strong chest, and before he could even chastise himself for that moment of weakness, he was already leaning into that comforting embrace.

He hadn't even realized that he needed this, having been alone since he was thrown into Azkaban more than a decade ago. Orion's magic was blanketing his, in a protective and incredibly possessive manner, and Hadrian - if at all possible - relaxed even further.

It was like a long forgotten instinct, and when Orion pulled away to caress his face softly, Hadrian had to suppress a sub vocal whine, desiring nothing more than to stay in that embrace as long as possible. It should have unsettled him, terrified him even; but it somehow didn't.

''Thank you, Orion.'' Hadrian murmured, hoping that the blush on his face wasn't as pronounced as it felt.

The Black Lord smirked that damned smile that had been haunting his dreams lately, pushing some loose strands of hair behind Hadrian's ear, even as his other hand was firmly clasped around Hadrian's own left. ''No, Hadrian. Thank you for trusting me with this.''

''I don't even know why. I barely even know you.'' Hadrian voiced his own confusion.

Orion blinked at him, obviously bewildered - and it absolutely thrilled Hadrian that he did not use any mask - before a look of realization crosses that handsome face. ''It seems like I have much to tell you, although now that I know that you have not grown up in a British pureblood home, or one at all, it is understandable that you would be confused. By Merlin and Morgana, it is a wonder that you have even told me as much with as little reassurance as you currently have.''

Orion pressed a rune on the table, and shortly after several desserts were spread out before them. Hadrian sat down on his chair, feeling more than a little confused and apprehensive at the serious look in those grey eyes.

''I don't know how much you know about magical bonding in general, so I will start at the beginning. A magical bond only exists if the magic between the two recipients are compatible. I am sure that you are able to understand, why. Being bound to someone by magic who is not suitable for your person and magic is like being chained in a sense, that's why arranged marriages never include Old Magics and bonding rituals, simply because it would slowly destroy the participants. Magic bonds only happen between wizards of pureblood descent because their family line has collected enough magics and the connection is stronger.

It's a simple fact, not pureblood supremacy. Mother Magic judges and chooses those matches, the stronger the reaction and resulting attraction; the stronger the bond is. Soul bonds do not exist, but bonds woven by Mother Magic herself do. If you have a particularly strong bond, it would be the very height of foolishness and betrayal to forsake that. It is a connection forged on the deepest levels of our magic; it makes us automatically connect to each other because there is literally no way any wizard would betray or misuse such a gift. You trust me because your magic knows that I could never betray such a strong bond.''

Only his strong sense of discipline prevented Hadrian to choke on his cake at hearing the painful sincerity in Orion's voice; and it explained so much.

He had been wondering about that inexplicable feeling of trust and belonging that he felt when talking to Orion; the fact that he had unwillingly and involuntarily let down his shields and shown weakness without hesitation…

He groaned, ''It explains so much…''

Orion chuckled amusedly, ''It is for that very reason that I have not used any kinds of masks in front of you. Normally Blacks are rather paranoid in that regard.''

Hadrian pouted, letting the last vestiges of pureblood decorum vanish, as he subtly glared at the still smirking form of Lord Black. ''Yes, the rumored Black insanity, tell me, Orion. How much of your reputation is true and how much is false?''

''I don't like Muggleborns, not because of their blood, but because they don't respect our traditions and culture. They presume to know better, without having any idea as what they are even talking about. Many laws against magical creatures resulted from a Muggleborn's fear of the unknown. I will however not pretend that there aren't many purebloods who believe that only those of pure blood and heritage should hold influence.'' Orion explained, and Hadrian had to agree, thinking of Hermione's SPEW campaign and the fear of those little elves.

There were countless traditions that he had only learned years after his introduction into the Magic world, many more only after his escape from Azkaban into the past. It had saddened him deeply, to think that he had been denied so much of his heritage, all because of a manipulative old Headmaster, too used to his position of power.

''I have been on both sides, and it still fills me with rage every time I think about how much was denied to me, only because some people were too greedy. And it saddens me when I think about how many Muggleborns actually do not know better, and are wholly ignorant of the world they enter.'' Hadrian commented, drawing strength from Orion's hand on his; their magic stroking against each other's.

''It is indeed true, are you going to formally acknowledge your Lordship and take your seat on the Wizengamot?'' Orion asked, drawing a curious look from Hadrian.

''I actually hadn't planned on doing that for some time, why?'' he asked, sipping some more wine.

''The Peverell Lordship holds much political weight, and your viewpoint would be somewhat unique.'' Orion admitted, and Hadrian laughed lightly as he reminded himself that Orion was first and foremost a Slytherin; cunning and ambitious.

''I shall think about it, Orion. If only to watch Dumbledore's face when one of his staff members will eventually vote against him.'' Hadrian smirked, imagining the twinkle dimming in those blue eyes.

''You don't seem to like the esteemed Headmaster.'' Orion put a particular emphasis on that word, causing Hadrian to let out another delighted bout of laughter.

''No.'', Hadrian replied, ''I do not like those who hide behind false masks, and preach what they do not believe, all the while justifying rather questionable actions with such a contentious reason as the 'Greater Good'.''

Orion nodded thoughtfully, ''I have to agree. None of the darker or neutral families really like him; although it's nothing but hear-say.'' Hadrian snorted, but didn't answer, both knowing that Dumbledore held far too much sway with the light families.

Both mutually deciding to let the issue rest for now, Hadrian rose up from his chair gracefully, not protesting when Orion paid for both of them, shelling out the several dozen Gallons their dinner had cost him with hardly any glance. The air outside was chilly, the wind blowing almost bitingly into their faces; both Lords ignored the speculative glances thrown their way as they strolled down the Alley, allowing some formal small-talk to flow between them, neither wanting to say anything of importance out in the open.

''How about some old scotch to finish the night?'' Hadrian suggested, cocking a questioning eyebrow at the older wizard; Orion Black merely nodded, and they fell silent as they entered the Leaky Cauldron.

Hadrian grabbed some floo powder, and stepped through the green flames with a muttered 'Peverell Pit'; it was only a moment later that he exited his own private floo connection gracefully, and quickly deactivated the wards. The rising of the flames alarmed him to his visitor, and Orion strode out of the fireplace only seconds later, taking in his chambers curiously.

''It suits you.'' Orion commented, sitting down on one the dark green comfortable arm chairs.

Hadrian smiled, hoping that the flickering light would hide the blush on his face; it was inconceivable how Orion made him feel by merely being in the same room. How his magic would search the Black Lord out; tendrils of magic curling around his senses like scorching veins.

''Thank you.'' Hadrian grabbed a bottle of old wizarding scotch that was just a little smoother than fire whiskey; and poured both of them a small glass full.

Orion's fingers brushed his as he handed over the glass and before he could stop his magic, it was already jumping forwards eagerly; thrumming through his body, making his eyes glow the shade of the killing curse even as the pull towards Orion Black increased with every second. The Black Lord's grey eyes were focused on his, darkening to a near black at the unintentional display of magic; and Hadrian did not know whether he should be disappointed or relieved when the ban of magic was broken, and he was able to lean back moments later.

''I should probably leave…'' Orion said, voice a little deeper; Hadrian nodded, still feeling the strain from keeping his magic back. ''…before I completely lose control of myself, and do something highly inappropriate without a declaration of intent first.'' The Black Lord added, and Hadrian narrowed his eyes at the smirking wizard; but the words lodged themselves in his throat when Orion boldly reached forward tugging a strand of ebony hair in his direction; his lips curving into a small sensuous smile that ignited a fire inside the smaller wizard.

''Look out for my owl, Hadrian. I will hopefully see you again soon.'' Orion murmured, with a small regal bow and only moments later he was gone through the floo place, and as Hadrian stared at the flickering fire, he couldn't stop the excited shudder and trembling of his body, as those words registered in his mind.

Torn between frustration and excitement, Hadrian turned around, trying and failing to get those grey eyes out of his mind.

A/N: Ok, so next chapter done... This was mainly to introduce some more background info and to show some more Orion/Hadrian interaction. Hadrian will behave differently with Orion than anyone else... so look forward to Hadrian acting all purebloodish with others!

The rating of this fic will change at some point when it gets more physical!

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AriesOrion